TOWN WARRANT
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
FRANKLIN, ss.
To the Constable of the Town of Wendell in the County of Franklin,
Greetings,
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby directed to notify and warn the inhabitants of said Town, qualified to vote in elections and in Town affairs, to meet on the Common outside Town Hall, on Center Street in said Town on Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 10 am then and there to act on the following articles:
ARTICLE 1: To see if the Town will vote to accept the reports of Town Officials as printed in the Town Report, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 2: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectboard, to borrow money from time to time in anticipation of the revenue of the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021 in accordance with the provisions of the MGL Chapter 44, Section 4, and to issue a note or notes as may be given for a period of less than one year in accordance with MGL Chapter 44, Section 17, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 3: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Town Treasurer to enter into compensating balance agreements during fiscal year 2022 as permitted by MGL Chapter 44, Section 53F, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 4: To see if the Town will vote to fix the salary, compensation, and expenses of all elected and appointed officials of the Town for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, as provided in MGL Chapter 41, as amended, and to see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $3,184,997 from taxation or such other sum of money as deemed necessary to defray such salaries and expenses for that period, or take any action thereon.
Budget Detail - Annual Town Meeting
FinCom Budget Recommendations- Annual Town Meeting
ARTICLE 5: To see if the Town will vote pursuant to the provisions of General Laws c.44, §53E½, as most recently amended, to (1) establish the following revolving fund and fiscal year spending limits as set forth below, and further (2) to amend the General Bylaws by inserting a new bylaw establishing this revolving fund, specifying the departmental receipts to be credited to each fund, the departmental purposes or programs for which each fund may be expended, and the entity authorized to expend each fund, such bylaw to provide as follows:
Departmental Revolving Fund:
Section 1. There is hereby established in the Town of Wendell pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c.44, §53E½, the following Revolving Fund, from which the specified department head, board, committee, or officer may incur liabilities against and spend monies from without appropriation in accordance with the limitations set forth in this by-law.
Section 2. No liability shall be incurred in excess of the available balance of the fund.
Section 3. The total amount spent during a fiscal year shall not exceed the amount authorized by Annual Town Meeting or any increase therein as may later be authorized by the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee in accordance with G.L. c.44, §53E½.
Section 4. Interest earned on monies credited to a revolving fund established by this by-law shall be credited to the General Fund.
Section 5. Authorized Revolving Funds
|
REVOLVING FUND PROGRAM OR PURPOSE |
DEPARTMENT RECEIPTS TO BE CREDITED TO FUND |
ENTITY AUTHORIZED TO SPEND |
|
Veterans Memorial Fund |
Fees and donations for use in maintenance/upgrades to the Veterans Memorial |
Cemetery Commission |
Section 6. Procedures and Reports. Except as provided in General Laws Chapter 44, §53E½ and this by-law, all applicable state and local laws and regulations that govern the receipt, custody, expenditure and payment of town funds shall apply to the use of the revolving fund established and authorized by this by-law.
And, further, to establish the following fiscal year spending limit for such funds:
|
Authorized Revolving Funds |
Fiscal Year Expenditure Limit |
|
Veterans Memorial Fund |
$ 8,000 |
ARTICLE 6: To see if the Town will vote to authorize revolving fund annual expenditure amounts for Fiscal Year 2022 as shown in the table below, or take any action relative thereto:
|
Fund |
Annual Expenditure Limit |
|
Wiring Inspector |
$10,000 |
|
Plumbing/Gas Inspector |
$10,000 |
|
Town Hall Kitchen |
$10,000 |
|
Recreation Commission |
$ 5,000 |
|
Recycling |
$15,000 |
ARTICLE 7: To see if the Town will vote to appropriate the sum of $513,146 for the MLP Enterprise Fund beginning July 1, 2020 in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c.44, sec 53 F ½, amount to be funded from the following sources; or take any action relative thereto.
Total Revenues
User Fees (Subscriptions)
Estimate in year one is 350 total subscribers with an MLP fee of $60.00 per month, monthly ISP/NOC fee of $39.99 for internet, and $20 for VOIP phone, Static IP of $12.95, service estimated to begin for some subscribers in July 2020.
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$513,146 from enterprise revenues.
ARTICLE 8: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $65,789 ($30,227 principal and $35,562 interest) to pay the fiscal year 2022 debt service on the Town Building Construction loan, or take any action thereon:
ARTICLE 9: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $195,154 from Free Cash to the Stabilization Fund, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 10: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $20,000 from Stabilization for the Reserve Fund, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 11: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $6,000 from Stabilization for the Independent Audit expenses, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 12: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $8,728 to pay the FY22 debt service on the Broadband Project, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 13: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $8,000 from Stabilization for Tax Title Expense, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 14: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $5,000 from Stabilization to pay for Fire Department turn-out gear, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 15: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $30,795 to pay the FY22 debt service on the Highway Department 2017 dump/sander/plow truck or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 16: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $24,247 to pay the FY22 debt service on the Backhoe, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 17: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $22,512 to pay the FY22 debt service on the Front End Loader, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 18: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $3,000 to pay for municipal advisory agreement fees, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 19: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $12,000 to pay for added Police expense (patrols, etc.), or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 20: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $14,226 to pay the FY22 debt service on the Mahar Construction Loan, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 21: To see if the Town will vote to transfer from Stabilization the sum of $235 to fund the Sick Bank Stabilization Fund established 06/16/2010 pursuant to MGL Chapter 40, Section 5B, for the purpose of investing sick leave pay, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 22: To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $500 for the Veterans Memorial Revolving Fund, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 23: To see if the Town will vote to transfer from Stabilization the sum of $160,000 to reduce the tax rate, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 24: To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds the sum of $1,236 to pay Legal Expense Bill of Prior Year, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 25: To see if the Town will vote to transfer from available funds the sum of $50 to pay a Conservation Commission Bill of Prior Year, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 26: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $3,446.70 from the Town Hall Lighting Upgrade account to the Rehab Loan Payback Account, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 27: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $20,000 from the Town Hall Solar Panels Account to the Rehab Loan Payback Account, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 28: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of $9,500 from the Rehab Loan Payback Account to pay for Town Hall window replacement, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 29: To see if the Town will vote, pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41A, to (1) increase the maximum qualifying gross receipts amount (income allowance) for persons applying for a property tax deferral under said clause from the current limit of $20,000, as follows: $30,000 (in FY21, this was $29,000) for a single individual who is not the head of household, $38,000 (in FY21, this was $36,000) for a head of household, and $45,000 (in FY21, this was $43,000) for married couples filing a joint income tax return; and (2) decrease the interest rate on taxes deferred under said clause from the statutory rate of 8% to 4.5%, such limits and interest rate to be effective for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021; or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 30: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Selectboard to declare certain items as surplus, and to trade in or sell surplus equipment, or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 31: To see if the Town will vote to apply for, accept, and expend any Federal, State, and private monies, such as Community Development Block Grants, Public Safety Grants, Massachusetts Public Library Construction Funds, etc., or take any action thereon.
ARTICLE 32: To see if the Town will vote, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 164, sec. 55, to elect a municipal light board consisting of three citizens of the town, each for a term of three years, with the first election being held in May of 2022. Pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, of the three-member board, initially one shall be elected for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, and thereafter the terms shall be for three years. The municipal light board shall have the authority to construct, purchase or lease the municipal light plant in accordance with the vote of the town and to
maintain and operate the same or take any other action relative thereto.
ARTICLE 33: To see if the Town will abolish the appointed municipal light board in favor of the elected municipal light board effective as of the election being held in May of 2022 or take any other action relative thereto.
ARTICLE 34: To see if the Town will vote to accept, for no monetary consideration, a parcel of land on Lockes Village Road from Raymond J. DiDonato and Laurie N. DiDonato for dam maintenance and highway purposes, the said parcel being shown as “Parcel A” on a plan entitled “Plan of Land prepared for Raymond J. DiDonato and Laurie N. DiDonato located in Wendell, MA” by Daniel L. Werner, P.L.S. dated April 16, 2021, or take any other action relative thereto.
ARTICLE 35: To transact any other legal business that may come before said meeting, or take any action thereon.
And you are directed to serve this Warrant by posting up attested copy thereof at the Wendell Town Office Building, 7 days at least prior to the time of holding said meeting.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this Warrant with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of meeting, as aforesaid.
Given under our hands this 26th day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-one.
_________________________________ { SELECTBOARD
_________________________________ { OF
_________________________________ { WENDELL
A true copy. Attest: ________________________________________, Constable
